The Daily Audio Bible

10 A few dead flies in a bottle of perfume cause it to have a bad smell.
In the same way, one foolish thing can destroy a lot of wisdom.
² If you are wise,
    you know the right way to go.
But a fool is stupid and he goes the wrong way.
³ Even when fools walk along the road,
    they show that they are stupid.
Everyone can see that they are not wise.
⁴ If your master becomes angry with you,
    do not leave your place.
Be patient and answer him quietly.
    Then he will forgive your mistakes.

⁵ I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth.
    It happens when a ruler does a silly thing.
⁶ A ruler may give fools too much authority.
    At the same time, rich people have no authority.
⁷ Slaves ride on horses, as important people do.
    At the same time, princes have to walk, as slaves do.

⁸ If you dig a deep hole, you might fall into it.
    If you knock down a wall, a snake might bite you.
⁹ If you cut stones out of the ground, a stone might hurt you.
    If you cut wood into pieces, a piece of it might hurt you.
¹⁰ If your axe is not sharp,
    you will need to be very strong to use it.
If you are wise, you will make the axe's edge sharp again.
    That is how wisdom helps you to do things well.
¹¹ Someone may have power over dangerous snakes.
    But that will not help him if the snake bites him first.

¹² People respect a wise person,
    because of the things that he says.
But the words of a fool will destroy him.
¹³ When a fool starts to speak,
    he says silly things.
When he finishes,
    he is saying crazy things that are wicked.
¹⁴     But he never stops talking.
Nobody knows what will happen in the future.
    Nobody can tell us what will happen after we die.
¹⁵ When a fool does any work,
    he quickly becomes tired.
He is so tired that he forgets the way to town.

¹⁶ A country is in terrible trouble
    if its ruler is young and foolish.
If its leaders go to parties all day,
    a country is in trouble.
¹⁷ But if a country's ruler belongs to a good family,
    that country will be a happy place.
Its leaders only enjoy parties at the proper time.
    They control themselves and they do not become drunk.
¹⁸ If a man is too lazy to work on his house,
    its roof will fall down.
    Rain will make his rooms wet.
¹⁹ Good food and wine help us to laugh and to be happy.
    But you need to have money to buy everything.
²⁰ Do not say bad things about the king.
    Do not even think about it!
Even when you are in your bedroom,
    do not say bad things about rich people.
A little bird might hear you.
    It might tell people what you have said.

⁹ Young people, enjoy your life while you are young.
    Do the things that you think are good.
    Enjoy the things that you see.
But remember that God will judge you
    for all the things that you do.
¹⁰ Do not worry about things.
    Do not let your body cause you to have pain.
You will not be young and strong for very long.
    We all become old too quickly.

12 Remember to serve God while you are young.
    He is the one who made you.
Your life will have many troubles in the future.
During those years, you will say,
    ‘I do not enjoy my life any more.’
² When you are old, the light from the sun will not seem to be bright.
    You will not see the moon or the stars.
There will always be dark clouds after the rain.
³ Your arms that have kept you safe will shake.
    Your legs will become weak.
You will have only a few teeth to eat with.
    Your eyes will no longer see very well.
⁴ Your ears will not hear noises outside in the streets.
    You will not hear the sound of people as they work.
    You will not hear the sound of people as they sing songs.
But a bird's song will wake you
    when you want to sleep.
⁵ You will be afraid to stand on high places.
    You will worry about danger in the streets.
When you are old, your hair will become white,
    like the flowers on an almond tree.
You will feel too tired to move yourself,
    like an old grasshopper.
    You will not want to have sex.
Finally, we will all die and go to our home in the ground.
    Many people will weep at our funeral.
⁶ Remember to serve God while you are young,
    because one day your life will finish.
It will be like a silver chain that breaks;
    like a gold bowl that breaks;
    like a water pot at the well that breaks into pieces;
    like a rope at the well that breaks apart.^[a]
7 Our bodies go back into the ground as dust.
The breath of our life goes back to God,
    who gave it to us.^[b]

‘All these things have no purpose.
We cannot understand why they happen.’

‘The person who picked up a lot did not have too much.
And the person who picked up a small amount also had enough.’^[b]

¹³ The same thing will happen to fools,
    and to those who copy their way of life.
Selah.
¹⁴ They will follow one another like sheep.
Death will be their shepherd
    that leads them into their graves.
But when the day arrives,
    righteous people will rule over them.
They will no longer live in their great houses,
    but death will destroy their bodies in their graves.
¹⁵ But God will save my life from the power of death.
    He will take me to a safe place with him.
Selah.
¹⁶ If somebody becomes rich
    and he has more and more things,
    do not be afraid!^[a]
17 He cannot take anything with him when he dies.
    His riches cannot go with him into death.
¹⁸ While he lived, he was happy with his life.
He thought, ‘People will praise me,
    because I am rich.’
¹⁹ But he will join his ancestors in death.
    He will never see the light of day again.
²⁰ Rich people do not always understand the truth.
    They will die, just like the animals.